ozfandomcom-20200223-history
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz A famously iconic Hollywood musical released by MGM in 1939 consisting almost of an all star cast. It was one of the very first pictures along with few others, such as Gone With The Wind, to ever be shot in Technicolor and is considered a true classic. It was directed by Victor Fleming and was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. The songs were written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, and one of them, "Over the Rainbow," won the Oscar for "Best Song of the Year." The movie is loosely based upon the original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow that was published in the year 1900. Though it departs a great deal from the actual source material. The Wizard of Oz is said to be one of the most known, talked about, beloved and watched family movies in all of cinema history. THE WIZARD OF OZ, Detailed Summary "For nearly fourty years this story has given faithful service to Young in Heart; and time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion. To those of you who have been faithful to it in return, and to the Young in heart, we dedicate this picture." -MGM studios. Set in the same era it was filmed in (circa 1938-9) the film starts out with the credits, which open up with a very cloudy background in a black and white sepia tone. The story opens up fastly, with Dorothy Gale, (Judy Garland) a twelve year old troubled orphan, and her little dog, Toto, who are seen running down the prairie dirt road from the unseen school house to her guardians Aunt Em, (Clara Blandick) and Uncle Henry, (Charley Grapewine) who both live at an old farm up the road. After a fateful encounter with the snooty and mean spirited Mayor of the Kansas town named Miss Gulch, (Margaret Hamilton) Dorothy is in a deep dilemma. To Dorothy's dismay, it seems as if no one at the farm cares or is interested in this as Dorothy tries to tell her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em about her problems. The adults around her are simply far too busy to be bothered by Dorothy and her childish nonsense as they are accessing the chicken coops and pig pens. The other three wise cracking Kansas farm hands "Hunk", (Ray Bolger), "Hickory", (Jack Haley) and "Zeke" (Bert Lahr) are also too busy at work as well, and do not want to hear Dorothy rambling and ranting on about her misfortune earlier that day. Everyone tells Dorothy to just try and stay out of the way and find some place where there isn't any trouble. However, Dorothy day dreams of a care-free and more colorful world, a land where there isn't any trouble. Dorothy then sings a pretty melancholy song about a place Somewhere over the Rainbow. Later that same day, the Mayor Miss Gulch finally arrives on her bicycle to the Gale farm and announces to Uncle Henry that she will have Toto destroyed because Toto got into her garden, chased her old cat and even bit her when she hit him on the back with a rack in defense. Miss Gulch has gotten the Kansas Sheriff to give her a legitimate order for Toto to be taken. Despite Aunt Em defending her niece's dog, Miss Gulch insist that Toto is now hers. She takes Toto away from a crying Dorothy and in a basket on her bike to be put down. Dorothy is devastated and runs to her bedroom heartbroken. Luckily, while Miss Gulch is riding her bicycle down the dirt road, Toto escapes and jumps out of the basket and quickly runs loyally back to the farmhouse to his mistress Dorothy. Realizing Miss Gulch will return for him, Dorothy and Toto decide to pack a basket and suitcase to run far away to find someplace better to live, where someone will care. After a few miles of walking Dorothy crosses a small bridge a friendly Psychic named Professor Marvel, (Frank Morgan) who stays by himself with his horse in a wagon beside the road by a dried out river. Dorothy asks if she can come along with him and see all of the crowned heads of Europe. He guesses correctly that she is running away and pretends to consult a crystal ball within his wagon (in reality taking Dorothy's basket and looking at a photo of Aunt Em as Dorothy has her eyes closed). Professor Marvel makes up a phony story about Aunt Em being suddenly ill and grief stricken over Dorothy leaving and might die from a broken heart. Dorothy realises how selfish she has been by not thinking about her Aunt's feelings. In a panic for her Aunt's health, Dorothy grabs Toto to head back home right away. However, by this time a terrible storm has approached, bringing a tornado that has hit the Kansas prairies and is coming closer by the minute! Aunt Em screams out for Dorothy who cannot hear her Aunt's voice over the whistling and howling of the storms wind. Uncle Henry takes Aunt Em as there is no time to wait, and with the three farm hands everyone safely hides in the storm cellar. With the wind howling terribly, Dorothy reaches the backyard cellar, yet is unable to get in because it is locked, so she runs inside the farmhouse with Toto. The pressure of the wind is so fierce that it causes a window pane in Dorothy's bedroom to break inward, knocking Dorothy unconscious as she lays on her bed beside Toto. Then, a strange thing happens, the tornado lifts up the farmhouse from it's foundation and twirls it high up into the air and up above the clouds, carrying it far, far away. When Dorothy awakens minutes later to the sound of a rooster crowing at her window, she looks out and see's the inside of the storm, she realizes she is must be up inside the tornado. Dorothy and Toto see many people and animals flying about as the wind holds them up as they pass by. Suddenly, to Dorothy's horror, she see's none other than Miss Gulch still on her bike also caught up inside the storm. Right before Dorothy's very eyes, Miss Gulch makes a hideous transformation as she turns into a Wicked Witch with a pointed hat who is flying on her broomstick laughing at Dorothy in a crackling voice. The house spins around faster and faster and tilts side to side as the tornado is at it's peek. Until it finally lands with a great crash, and all is silent. With Toto in her arms, Dorothy rushes to open the front door of the house to step outside. As the door is opened, the film is suddenly in color. Dorothy is amazed and left speechless at the gorgeous colors, breathtakingly beautiful scenery and magical landscape all around her. Bright giant plants and blossoming flowers grow, entwined in rich green trees and round hills are on every side in the distance, Birds flutter in the baby blue skies and chirp and sing sweetly in the braches. And a little sparkling river of fresh clear blue water runs into a pond is filled with large lilly pads a float. The pond is centered in the middle of what seems to be a little town, of little houses built for little people. Dorothy then realises she is no longer in Kansas, but must be over the Rainbow. As Dorothy stands absolutely mesmerized by the sights around her, Glinda, (Billie Burke) the beautiful Good Witch of the North, appears before her as she descends from the sky in a big pink magical floating Bubble. Dressed in an elegant glittering ball gown, Glinda approaches to ask Dorothy if she is a Good Witch or a Bad Witch, then informs Dorothy that she is in the land of Oz and that her farmhouse landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, which killed her instantly by crushing her to death as it fell from out the sky. Glinda also tells Dorothy that the Munchkins who live in the east are the little people who are now free of her bondage forever. A big celebration is thrown throughout Munckinland and Dorothy is declared a Hero by the Mayor of Munckin city and all of the Munchkin county council. Soon after, the Wicked Witch of the East's green skinned sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, (Margaret Hamilton) appears and who is said to be much worse. She is instantly angry and furious at Dorothy for killing her sister. Glinda, reminds the Wicked Witch of the Ruby Slippers, which are still on the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East that are still sticking out from under the fallen farmhouse. Before the Wicked Witch can take them for her own to use for bad spells, Glinda magically teleports them onto Dorothy's feet to keep them from the hands of evil. She reminds the Wicked Witch of the West that she has no power in Munchkinland and better leave at once before someone drops a house on her also! So the frightened Wicked Witch threatens Dorothy watch her back, and disappears in a cloud of red and black smoke in flames of fire. Dorothy asks Glinda how she is supposed to get back home again to her Aunt and Uncle in Kansas, and Glinda says that only the Wonderful Wizard of Oz can help her. He is the most powerful and respected force within all the land and lives in Emerald City, which is a very long journey from Munchkinland. To get there, Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road which leads all the way to the city gates. Glinda carefully warns Dorothy to never take off the Ruby Slippers even for a minute, or she will be at the mercy of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda then kisses Dorothy upon her forehead for luck, then gracefully disappears up into the sky inside of her pink bubble again. The Munchkins wish Dorothy a goodbye and wave farwell. Along the yellow brick road, Dorothy reaches a crossroads, and also meets a talking Scarecrow, (Ray Bolger) on a pole in a cornfield to scare off the crows. The Scarecrow is unhappy because he doesn't have a brain. So Dorothy tells him about the Wizard of Oz, and he decides to come along with her and Toto in hopes that the wizard might give him some brains as he will send Dorothy back to her Kansas. The three then set out on the yellow brick road again and continue on with their long journey. After tricking some rather mean trees and getting some of their apples to eat for a hardy snack, they meet a Tin Woodman, (Jack Haley) on the side of the road hidden by trees, who is completely rusted. Dorothy and the Scarecrow oil up his joints so he can move again and talk. The Tinman tells them a sad story, that he is empty inside because he doesn't have a heart because the Tin smith who made his tin body forget to add one. So they invite him to also come with them so the wizard can give him one. The trio are threatened by the Wicked Witch who appears above them on the roof of the Timan's old wooden cottage. She warns them that if they venture any further or help Dorothy in anyway, there will be a Wicked price to pay. The Scarecrow and Tinman stand up to the Witch as she throws a flaming fire ball in her hand at them before disappearing again. The Scarecrow and Tinman reassure Dorothy they will make sure she gets safely to the Emerald City rather they get brains or heart or not. The three now follow the yellow brick road into a dark and scary forest in the night, with only the moonlight to guide them. This forest turns into a thick jungle filled with loins and tigers and bears, and they come across the Cowardly Lion, (Bert Lahr) who jumps out and roars furiously at the travelers on the road to scare them. He bullies the Scarecrow and the Tinman while Dorothy hides behind a big tree. The Loin sees Toto, who barks and growls at him so the Loin pursues to bite him. Dorothy slaps him on the nose in defense for her dog and the Loin begins to cry and sob. He finally confesses and admits to tell them the truth about being a coward. Dorothy and her friends invite the sad Lion who chooses to come with them so the wizard can give him some real courage. Later on, the travlers make it out of the dark forest and into the bright daylight again. There before them, off in the distance, over hills and meadows of Poppies, they see the magnificent Emerald City of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West has been spying on them the entire time through her magic crystal ball, so she creates a magic potion to affect tge poppy flowers in the field the travlers must cross to put Dorothy and the Lion to sleep to slow them down for she can retrieve her sisters Ruby Slippers and take over all of Oz. The flowers are attractive to the eye, yet soothing to the smell and will put any living thing who breathes in their deadly fragrance, in a deep slumber for ever, until eventual death. This almost works as the Wicked Witch planned, and Dorothy, Toto and the Lion are put into a deep, deep sleep as the Scarecrow and Tinman cry out for help. Glinda the Good hears the pleas and uses her magical wand to make it Suddenly snow to stop the poppies' deadly power. Dorothy, Toto and the Lion wake up only to find the Tinman has rusted himself crying. After they oil the Tinman again, they all happily continue the journey with the Scarecrow. The group reach the gates of the glorious Emerald City at last. They are welcomed to enter thanks to the Ruby Slippers Dorothy is wearing. Inside the citizens are all a fashionable people, wearing fancy green clothes and fine robes. Before they are allowed to see Oz, the companions must take a tour of the beautiful city in a green buggy drawn by the Rainbow horse of a different color. The four are all taken to the Emerald City beauty shop and salon to wash and tidy up to look presentable for the meeting with the Wizard. Meanwhile the Wicked Witch of the West is still very displeased that they arrived in the city safely and sets out on her flying broomstick to write in the sky with thick black smoke above the city in gaint letters which read: "SURRENDER DOROTHY". Dorothy, her friends and the citizens of the City all panic and question who is Dorothy! The Soldier with Green Whiskers tries to calm the city citizens down and tells them to go home. Dorothy and her friends tell the Soldier that Dorothy is the "Witches Dorothy!" And to please inform the Wizard at once! Soon after the gates of the Wizards palace are thrown open that lead into a very tall and wide hallway. At the end of the hallway, the extravagant royal throne room of Oz is. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and Cowardly Lion meet the great and Powerful Wizard in the form of a giant-oversized translucent green head above a large chair. Each of them are allowed to speak with Oz's head as he screams and shouts at them. But no one dares to talk back or question his authority. He tells them all he is willing to grant their requests and wishes. But here's the catch, only if they bring him the magic broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West first to prove they are worthy enough to deserve his usage of power. The group then have no choice but to obey the Wizards commands, which sadly would require them to destroy and kill the Witch. While entering into the dark and very spooky Haunted Forest, which is the only way to reach the Wicked Witch's castle, about a mile or so away. The Wicked Witch see's them coming and sends her Flying Monkeys to bring her the girl and her dog and reminds the pact to not damage the Ruby Slippers. The Monkeys fly away into the dark sky and do as they are told. Dorothy and her friends see the Flying Monkeys in the sky coming straight towards them, so they run off as fast as they can in different directions. The army of Flying Monkeys are just as fast and they quickly attack, terrorize and bully Dorothy and her friends. The Monkeys beat and ruff up the Tinman and Scarecrow. Then chase after Dorothy and Toto, as they successfully grab hold of them both and bring them to the Witches castle. The Wicked Witch tries to take the Ruby Slippers by threatening to drown Dorothy's dog Toto in a river near the castle even putting him in a basket in a very similar manner to Miss Gulch. Dorothy finally surrenders and agrees to give up the Ruby Slippers to the Witch in exchange for Toto back. But as the Witch tries to have at the Ruby Slippers at last, they shoot painful electric sparks out that shock the Witch's hands. The Witch decides she has to kill Dorothy in the process if she wants to have the Slippers and their power all for herself. She locks Dorothy in a room high up in a tower chamber with the hourglass of death, which represents Dorothy's time to be alive. The Wicked Witch leaves a frightened Dorothy all alone as she goes off to determine how to kill the girl without damaging the Ruby Slippers' power. To the Wicked Witch's dismay, little Toto escapes out of the basket just as he did in Kansas to Miss Gultch, and runs all the way back to where the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were left. He takes them to the castle, showing them the way over a very rocky mountain. When they arrive to the where the Witch lives they see the castle is gaurded by mean Winkie gaurds with sharp weapons and spears. They successfully and surprisingly beat up three of the Witches Winkie guards who try to come up on then from behind. The three wear their uniforms to enter the castle in disguise. And Toto leads them up the castle stairs to the tower where Dorothy is locked in. The Tinman chops down the door and breaks the lock with his axe, freeing the distraught imprisoned Dorothy just seconds before the hourglass of death ran out of time. Dorothy is happy to see Toto and her friends again, but there is no time to lose! They all quickly try to flee from the Witch's castle out the main door, but are caught red handed and attacked by the Wicked Witch and her gaurds who are ordered to seize them. After a wild chase scene in the castle courtyard, the Winkie guards have them cornered as they point to aim the sharp spears they carry directly at the four threatening to stab them. The Wicked Witch laughs and cackles. She wickedly taunts them all as she decides to kill everyone else including Toto and Dorothy last so she can watch. She starts with the Scarecrow first, taking her broomstick and setting the tip on fire from the flame of a fire light of the castle and sets his arm on fire. The Scarecrow begans to panick and shout, Dorothy throws a near by bucket of collecting rain water to put out the fire, which accidentally splashes all over the Witch. To the Witch this brings her death and causes her to melt away as she is liquidated. Putting a final end to her Wicked ways. To Dorothy's shock the Winkie guards are thrilled that the Wicked Witch is dead, freeing them from her for forever, they hail Dorothy and bow down to her. They thank her by also giving Dorothy her broomstick as a reward and souvenir trophy. The group make it back to the Emerald City. The wizard is surprised to see Dorothy and the gang return, and tells them to come back tomorrow. Dorothy is angered at this so she demands for the Wizard to keep his promise and send her home now! Toto pulls back a green curtain at the corner of the throne room, revealing a little old gray man, (Frank Morgan) behind it dressed in a green suite, and Dorothy finds out that he is really the Wizard. Just using machines to project a giant head giving it's audience an illusion. Dorothy tells the Wizard that he is a very bad man, but the Wizard insist he isnt! Just a very bad Wizard. He tells the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man that thay actually have what they have been searching for the entire time, and gives them items such as medals and diplomas so others will recognize them, keeping his promise and satisfying the three. He then turns to Dorothy and tells Dorothy that he is also from America and came from Ohama to Oz by a hot air Balloon that was caught in a storm on a dusty day at the Fair. He tells Dorothy he will glady take her and Toto back in it, and the three will return to the land of E Pluribis Unum! On the day the Balloon is to be launched, the Wizard tells all of the Emerald City citizens that are gathered around to watch him and Dorothy leave together, that the Scarecrow will offically rule over the Emerald City until he returns, if ever. Before the last second of the departure, Toto jumps right out pf Dorothy's arms to chase after a Siamese cat who is moewing at him in the crowd. Dorothy rushes off after her dog, not wanting to leave him. Unfortunately the Balloon takes off and floats away into the sky without them. The Wizard sincerely apologizes asthe Balloon goes higher and higher up into the sky and is never seen again. Dorothy is devastated and begans to cry as her three friends try comfort her. Dorothy is afraid that she may never see Aunt Em again and doesn't know what to do. But when all hope seems to be lost, Glinda the Good appears for the second time in her magic floating bubble. Glinda calms Dorothy down and tells her that she always had the power to return home to her Kansas. She informs Dorothy that she has learned her lesson, being that there really is no place like home afterall and tells her the magic of the Ruby Slippers that she has been wearing all along. Glinda explains that she chose not to tell Dorothy before because she wouldn't have believed her and simply needed to find out for herself, that she didn't have to run away to find her heart's desire. After a tearful goodbye with the Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow, to return to Kansas, Dorothy holds Toto tightly in her arms, closes her eyes and clicks her heels together three times and repeats to herself that: "There's no place like home." Time seems to stop as everything magically begans to go back to the way it was. Back in a black and white sepia tone, Dorothy awakens in her bedroom of the farmhouse and is back in Kansas. Aunt Em has a rag over her forehead to ease the bump on Dorothy's head. Dorothy tries to explain what she saw in Oz, but a doubtful Aunt Em and Uncle Henry then tell her that the adventure she described was just a dream from a bump on the head. But Dorothy is convinced that her journey throughout the land of Oz was all infact real. Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke reappear (whom she notices resemble the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion), and Professor Marvel (who resembles the wizard) shows up at her window to see if Dorothy made it home safely. Toto jumps up onto the bed, and Dorothy tells everyone that she promises to never run away ever again, because she loves them all and "There's no place like home". The End Miss Gulch is nowhere to be seen, nor is she mentioned, this hints thst she might have been possibly injured or even killed in the Tornado. Musical Ending It was revealed in the RSC's musical production that she was injured by a telegraph pole during the twister and her leg was in plaster. Cast * Judy Garland: Dorothy Gale * Frank Morgan: Professor Marvel, The Doorman, Cabby, Guard, and the Wizard of Oz * Ray Bolger: Hank, Scarecrow * Bert Lahr: Zeke, Cowardly Lion * Jack Haley: Hickory, Tin Woodman * Billie Burke: Glinda the Good Witch of the North * Margaret Hamilton: Miss Gulch, Wicked Witch of the West * Charley Grapewin: Uncle Henry * Clara Blandick: Auntie Em * Terry: Toto * The Singer Midgets: Munchkins ** Munchkin mayor: Charley Becker ** Munchkin coroner: Meinhardt Raabe ** Lollipop Guild: Jackie Gerlich, Jerry Maren, Harry Doll ** Lullaby League: Nita Krebs, Olga Nardone, Yvonne Moray * Pat Walshe: Nikko * Mitchell Lewis: Captain of the Winkie guards See also: ''Wizard of Oz'' minor cast; ''Wizard of Oz'' vocal cast. Crew * Art directors: Cedric Gibbons, William A. Horning ** Associate art director: Jack Martin Smith * Assistant conductor: George Stoll * Assistant directors: Al Shenberg, Wallace Worsley * Choreographer: Bobby Connolly ** Assistant choreographers: Arthur "Cowboy" Appell, Dona Massin * Color direction: Natalie Kalmus, Henri Jaffa * Costume design: Gilbert Adrian * Directors of photography: Harold Rosson (color), Allan Darby (black and white) * Makeup: Jack Dawn * Recording director: Douglas Shearer * Set decoration: Edwin B. Willis * Special effects: A. Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie * Vocal arrangements: Ken Darby, Roger Edens * Orchestral arrangements: George Bassman, Murray Cutter, Paul Marquardt See also: LeRoy's List. Precedents The makers of The Wizard of Oz were strongly influenced by the success of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which showed that a fantasy film could attract an enthusiastic adult audience — a trick that earlier Oz films, including those made by Baum's Oz Film Manufacturing Company, had failed to master. Many of the changes made in Baum's original story were designed to recreate the success of Disney's movie; some of these, like a beautiful Wicked Witch of the West (to be played by Gale Sondergaard), did not survive into the finished film. As a negative example, the filmmakers could look to the 1933 Paramount version of Alice in Wonderland, a notorious critical and popular flop. The film had boasted a distinguished cast of stars and character actors, including Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields, Edna May Oliver, Charlie Ruggles, Sterling Holloway, and Edward Everett Horton — who were generally unrecognizable under their heavy makeup. For The Wizard of Oz, care was taken so that the actors in heavy costume and makeup remained recognizable. (Fantasy was a tough genre for Hollywood. A year after the Oz film, an adaptation of Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird that starred Shirley Temple would prove another notable flop, and ended Temple's career as a film star.) Background 'Making the film' Mervyn LeRoy produced the film, with Arthur Freed as assistant producer. Its genesis was complex, employing multiple directors and screenwriters. Fleming had the director's credit, though George Cukor, Norman Taurog, Richard Thorpe, and King Vidor also worked on the project. An early plan to have Busby Berkeley direct the musical numbers never panned out. Noel Langley is credited with adapting the original book, and Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf are credited as the authors of the screenplay — though more than a dozen individuals, including Herman Mankiewicz, were involved in various ways. The multiple versions of the film's script have been preserved; they make a stack five feet thick. Jack Dawn designed the makeup for the characters. Makeup man Jack Young had the daily job of turning Margaret Hamilton into the Wicked Witch, while Charles Schram was responsible for the Cowardly Lion. By August 1938, the studio had set up a special annex where personnel drafted from the mail room and messenger service were trained in makeup; some of these people remained in the craft afterward. Still, so many actors and extras needed makeup in some scenes that the studio issued an open call to the local craft unions for free-lance hairdressers and makeup men. Special effects for the movie were created by Buddy Gillespie and filmed by Max Fabian. Warren Newcombe created shots involving matte paintings for backgrounds, using techniques he originated. Sixty-five sets were used; the most complex was the Munchkinland set. As many as 150 painters may have worked on the film. Four separate horses were tinted for the Horse of a Different Color sequence. Betty Danko, Hamilton's stunt double, was badly injured in an accident on the set; Hamilton suffered burns in another incident. Two of the flying monkeys were hospitalized after falling from the wires that made them "fly." Ray Bolger wore a suit protected with asbestos for the scene in which the Witch sets the Scarecrow on fire. Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Woodman, but endured a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum makeup the character wore; he had to be replaced by Jack Haley. The film was edited by Fleming and Blanche Sewell; Fleming worked in the editing room in the evening, after directing Gone With the Wind during the day. MGM studio records placed the cost of making the movie at $2,769,230.30 (in 1939 dollars) — half a million dollars over its budget. Production occurred between 12 October 1938 and 16 March 1939. (The movie had originally been scheduled to begin filming in the Spring of 1938 and to be completed by the end of that year; but delays in virtually every aspect of the production rendered that original schedule moot. See: Timeline.) Test screenings began in June; final editing was completed by 5 July, and the musical score finished on 9 July. The movie premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on 15 August 1939. 'And after..' The film won two Academy Awards in 1940: in addition to Harburg and Arlen's award for Best Song, Herbert Stothart won the award for Best Original Score. The movie was nominated in four other categories too, losing the Best Picture Oscar to Gone With the Wind. (Judy Garland received a miniature Oscar for the best performance by a juvenile.) The Wizard of Oz was a major hit with audiences; the film earned $3,017,00 for MGM during its initial exhibition. This, however, was not enough to equal the production costs plus the million dollars spent on distribution and advertising. The film did not make a profit until it was re-released, ten years after its original showing; in 1949 it earned another $1,500,000 at the box office. The first television broadcast of the film took place on 3 November 1956 on the CBS network; the audience of this initial broadcast has been calculated at over 44,000,000 viewers. A second TV broadcast of the film in 1959 (at an earlier hour) won an even larger audience. Annual broadcasts of the film followed through the ensuing decades, leading to the film's reputation as a classic. By 1983, the movie had earned somewhat under $6,000,000 at the box office, and $13,000,000 from television broadcast rights. Ted Turner bought the MGM film library, including The Wizard of Oz, in 1985; by 1988, worldwide television sales had increased to $34,500,000, plus $16,700,000 from the sales of 850,000 video cassettes. The film has been restored using new technology more than once, including a major effort for a 1998 theatrical re-release and the 2009 release of the film on Blu-ray Disc. Merchandise Image:5CAUTOIMAGES5CKSW5811lg.jpg 6dec23ecb7b5237b74ddfce4d30eb83b image 300x450.jpg Autoimages ge11209lg.jpg Turtle Lion.jpg 412BCQCP97L SL500 AA280 .jpg Wicked Witch castle globe.jpg Glinda copy.png TinManLionScarecrow.jpg 90034647-110x110-0-0_Wizard_Of_Oz_Wizard_Of_Oz_Plush_Cowardly_Lion_Doll.jpg 51mjGLJPoeL_SL500_AA300_.jpg 1_8c6a71517e6b9a2ae9965b62e59deff9.jpg 07d6 1.jpg 37796.jpg 1997WizardHollywoodLegendsScarecrow.jpg LionLoose.jpg 61XOpEs2xIL.jpg 51OJ80nUvRL SL500 AA300 .jpg SFM009.jpg Movies-family-tchachkis-magnets-wizard-of-oz-ruby-red-slippers-6684871322479 nat1.jpg Witch-from-the-wizard-of-oz.jpg XL1560.jpg 4b78bb0241268 149802b.jpg Wizard-1.jpg 0df6729fd7a06ed7f7c10110 L SL500 AA300 .jpg The_Wizard_of_Oz_book_cover_.jpg 1806659947_aa36791a2d_b.jpg wizardofoz75thann.jpg * Wizard of Oz Collector Plates * Toys and Collectibles * The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. * 75th Anniversary Edition Boxset. Miscellany Billie Burke played a beautiful witch, at the age of 55; Margaret Hamilton played an ugly witch, at the age of 36. Hamilton found it unpleasant to eat while in costume: her green makeup got onto her food. During the Tin Woodman's solo dance, a puff of "steam" is emitted from his funnel hat. MGM technicians simulated the steam with a puff of talcum powder. For the poppy-field scene, stagehands planted 40,000 artificial flowers into the floor of the set on Stage 29 at the MGM studio. More than 300 extras were used for the Emerald City scenes. Despite the remarkable aspects of the production, the MGM publicity department perpetrated wild exaggerations of the relevant facts. MGM publicity director Howard Strickling released a 32-page memo that claimed that 9200 actors "faced the camera" in the film, that 3200 costumes were created, and 6200 personnel "on all branches of production" worked on the project. His numbers were nonsense (yielding one costume for every three actors, for example). In fact, about 500 performers appeared in the film, and a thousand costumes were created. MGM had fewer than 4000 employees in total in the late 1930s, and not all of them worked on The Wizard of Oz. Differences from the Book *The Farmhands (Hunk, Hickory and Zeke), Miss Gulch and Professor Marvel. *Glinda being the Witch of the North (Glinda was the Witch of the South in the book and the Witch of the North was named Locasta) *The shoes being ruby and not silver *The Wicked Witch of the West is The Witch of the East's sister *The Witch being the main villain *The Tin Man always being made of tin *The Wizard sees Dorothy and her friends all at once *Boq, The Golden Cap, The Hammer Heads, and The China Village are all absent *Oz never happened and was a dream References in other productions The dub of the Digimon anime makes a great deal of references to The Wizard of Oz. These include: *Myotismon tells Kari "I've got you my pretty and your little cat too." The Wicked Witch of the West once says to Dorothy "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!" *When LadyDevimon is destroyed by Angewomon, she says "I'm melting!" like the Wicked Witch of the West does. *In the next episode after that, Sora says "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." *Piedmon mentions flying monkeys, referring to the Vilemon, his servants. *An episode in Season 2 is entitled "If I Only Had A Heart". Other programs that have parodied The Wizard of Oz in an episode include: *''Earthworm Jim'' - "The Wizard of Ooze" *''VeggieTales'' - "The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's" *''Futurama'' - "Anthology of Interest II" *''Phineas and Ferb'' - "Wizard of Odd" *''The Fresh Beat Band'' - "The Wizard of Song" *''The Suite Life On Deck'' - "Twister: Part 2" *''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' - "Minnie's The Wizard of Dizz" *''That's So Raven'' - "Soup to Nuts" *''Victorious'' - "April Fools Blank" References * Hugh Fordin. M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit. Cambridge, MA, Da Capo Press, 1996. * John Fricke, Jay Scarfone, and William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History. Warner Books, 1989. * Aljean Harmetz. The Making of the Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM and the Miracle of Production #1060. New York, Knopf, 1977. * Paul Nathanson. Over the Rainbow: The Wizard of Oz as a Secular Myth of America. Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 1991. * Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. The Wizardry of Oz: The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic. New York, Random House, 1999. External links * IMDB * The Judy Room Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz Wizard Of Oz 1939 Category:Live